Levy immigrated to Israel from Iraq as a child in the early 1950s. He studied law at Tel Aviv University and served as a military court judge, then a Magistrates judge, and later as a District Court judge in Tel Aviv.

Levy served as a Supreme Court justice from 2000 to 2011, and was a rare religious-Zionist voice in the court.

Among his notable rulings were his position as the sole dissenting voice saying the Disengagement plan should be cancelled, and his efforts to force an end to ethnic discrimination in a school in the city of Emmanuel.

Levy also was in the minority in opposing a bill to reduce National Insurance (Bituach Leumi) payments, and in arguing against a clause that freed the state from responsibility for damages to Palestinian Arab civilians injured in IDF activities not directly related to defense.

In 2012 he headed the committee that examined the legal aspects of Israeli settlement in Judea and Samaria (Shomron). The committee issued what became known as the Levy Report – a legal document defending the right of Israeli citizens to live in the contested Judea and Samaria regions.

The report found that Judea and Samaria are not “occupied territory” under international law, and suggested that the government deal with unauthorized Israeli settlements in the area by giving them legal standing.